From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Complaints from coachbuilder Messrs. Barkers regarding bonnet finish, comparing them to Daimler's superior methods.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 119\4\ scan0054 | |
| Date | 8th September 1937 | |
| To RHC.{R. H. Coverley - Production Engineer} from Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}/Std. c. RHC{R. H. Coverley - Production Engineer}/Cy. Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}/Std.2/WH.8.9.37. Referring to your RHC{R. H. Coverley - Production Engineer}/Cy.3/LS.1.9.37. resisting to finish of bonnets on all chassis, while the writer was at Cricklewood recently in connection with oil cooler failures, the foreman of Messrs. Barkers complained to the writer about the state in which some of our bonnets came in at their works. The writer visited Messrs. Barkers and discussed this matter with their works manager Mr. Corbin. Their complaints, which they substantiated to Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}/Std's satisfaction, may be divided into two classes. (1) The major complaint - irregularity in the bonnet plate surface when polished or painted, particularly new bonnet louvres or shutters - e.g. flats, depressions etc. which have presumably been raised during manufacture of the bonnet. (2) Less important complaint - scratches etc. in the metal, particularly near the bonnet shutters (presumably due in part to use of coarse emery cloth). They were able to show the writer instances of both these complaints - particularly the former - several bonnets showed irregularity of surface on the bonnet shutters and on the side plate near the bonnet shutters where rivetting had been done. A further complaint which was shown, was cracking of the paint on the bonnet shutters, around the rivet heads owing to the rivets working in the plate. Messrs. Barkers stressed the fact that the Daimler bonnets which they handled were a much better job than our own bonnets, requiring a negligible amount of work on them. The Daimler bonnet, which is of unusual construction, having a sheet of asbestos sandwiched between two thin sheets (approx. .048 or .064 thick) of aluminium, possesses the advantage that its side plates are slightly curved, its top plate is similar to the Bentley in shape, and it has no bonnet shutters or louvres. However, in view of the excellence of the finish of the Daimler bonnets which we saw, we think that it might be worth while for whoever is supervising the quality and manufacture of our bonnets, to visit the Daimler works and study their methods. We realise, of course, that whereas at the moment Messrs. Barkers pay for rectification of these defects (under protest) as far as this rectification is practicable, | ||